"Pururu, Pururu, I brought you some fish snacks!"
Qin Yue quickly spotted Pururu sitting on the partition eating cat food as soon as she entered the door. She approached with a smile, handing over a bag of fish snacks.
"Meow."
Let me see if these fish snacks are better than the cat food.
Pururu poked its head into the bag, grabbed a fish snack, and chewed. Its eyes lit up immediately.
"Meow!"
Not bad, these can be my snacks.
Seeing how much Pururu liked the fish snacks, Qin Yue approached with a smile and petted Pururu.
Qin Yao, standing behind her, coughed lightly and couldn't resist reaching out to pet Pururu as well.
Who can resist the temptation to pet a cat?
"Huh?"
Qin Yue didn't notice anything unusual, but Qin Yao looked surprised. "Boss, Pururu's fur seems smoother and it looks like it's grown. It feels bigger than before."
Qi Han nodded, "It's probably because it absorbed some natural treasures, nothing major."
He had noticed this when he picked up Pururu earlier. Pururu had grown noticeably larger, and its fur had become very smooth. Beneath the long, silky fur, he could feel the strength hidden in its bones.
Considering the dense life energy Pururu absorbed, Qi Han thought this was normal.
"Ru Yi, does Pururu count as a 10 Years Spirit Beast now?"
"This little guy is lucky. Because of its mutation, it has a high innate potential. After absorbing the life energy from the Life Gold twice, it's now a 10 Years Spirit Beast in terms of age. In terms of combat power, it could probably take on a 100 Years old Spirit Beast." Ru Yi pondered for a moment before speaking.
Hmm?
It can already take on a 100 Years old Spirit Beast?
And it's only been a few days.
Qi Han couldn't help but scrutinize Pururu, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Don't underestimate the Life Gold. For Spirit Beasts over 100,000 years old, it's a treasure. The life energy Pururu absorbed is enough to help a Fierce Beast withstand a tribulation. Since Pururu is still a kitten, most of the energy went into boosting its potential rather than immediate strength. It's only showing the tip of the iceberg of the benefits it received."
"The Misty Cloud Cat species has an upper limit of a 10,000-year Spirit Beast. They start as 1.000 Years old Spirit Beasts when they reach adulthood and can reach the 10,000-year level with some effort. With additional opportunities, breaking through to 100,000 years isn't impossible."
"Pururu's potential is even higher due to its mutation, but it hasn't fully developed its power yet. The innate abilities of the Misty Cloud Cat aren't useful to it, so it relies on brute strength for now, making it seem not too strong."
"If its potential is fully tapped, becoming a 100,000-year Spirit Beast is quite likely. With the life energy from the Life Gold, it's almost certain to reach that level."
"Spirit Beasts are different from humans. Only True Dragons are guaranteed to reach the 100,000-year level. Even top-tier Spirit Beasts like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear have only a 50-60% chance of breaking through from 10,000 to 100,000 years."
After explaining Pururu's situation and providing some knowledge about Spirit Beasts, Ru Yi changed the topic. "Also, you feed this little guy Dragon Scale Fish every day. Even a pig could become a fearsome Spirit Beast If it ate that much daily."
Ru Yi rolled her eyes. Although Dragon Scale Fish weren't rare due to the accelerated time in the Small World, feeding them to a 10 Years Spirit Beast like Pururu was wasteful.
Speaking of cat food, Qi Han suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Ru Yi, do you have any recipes for cat food?"
Ru Yi was silent for a moment before finally exploding. "Recipes are for humans, not cats! No, I don't have any!"
"Why so fierce? Cats are humans' best friends..." Qi Han changed his tone. "Do you think my cat food could get a 1 Star rating?"
"Hey? Ru Yi, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Hello?"
"…"
After leaving Ru Yi speechless, Qi Han shrugged and started preparing a work meal for the Qin sisters.
Time passed quickly in peaceful moments. Located on the busiest street, Small Shop's reputation soared rapidly. The new restaurant was almost always full of customers daily, with people even lining up outside.
5 days flew by, and the rating week was nearing its end.
Something unexpected happened—Cao Pingzhi still hadn't visited Small Shop after 5 days, as if he didn't even know about the restaurant.
Cao Pingzhi walked through the bustling crowd of the Morning Star Street, scrutinizing a piece of paper in his hand.
The paper listed all the restaurants and food stalls in Morning Star Street. Over the past few days, he had been wandering this street, sampling each place. After tasting a restaurant's food, he would cross its name off the list for easy reference.
Now, only one name remained on the list.
Small Shop.
The rating week lasted 7 days, but the raters only had six days to score. On the 7th day, Chief Editor Mu Liufeng would review and proofread the drafts. In other words, this was the last day.
It was already dinner time, and for the final meal of the rating week, Cao Pingzhi planned to visit Small Shop. He expected the owner to prepare the best dishes to entertain him and then see him off respectfully.
He hadn't forgotten Zhao Fenglai's request. That owner knew how to get things done. The jade piece worth over 1.000 Gold Coins, and the benefits worth nearly 10.000 Gold Coins during his visit to Fenglai Pavilion, were all substantial.
Therefore, he was happy to grant Zhao Fenglai's small request.
All he had to do was ensure that Small Shop's dishes didn't make it into the Food Critique Magazine magazine. It was simple.
Cao Pingzhi was experienced in this. He knew how to give a score that would ensure the dishes would never make it into the Food Critique Magazine, yet wouldn't appear too deliberate. This allowed him to easily handle any restaurant.
Approaching the Small Shop's location, Cao Pingzhi was surprised by what he saw.
The restaurant was packed with over a hundred people inside, and there were more than a dozen people waiting outside.
Business was this good?
Even Fenglai Pavilion rarely saw such a situation.
Cao Pingzhi has yet to see the second floor, he had no idea about the situation on the second floor; otherwise, he would have been even more shocked.
At that moment, the second floor was also completely full.
Glancing at the line outside, Cao Pingzhi nonchalantly walked into Small Shop.
Queue? What a joke.
When he went to Fenglai Pavilion, it was also full. So what?
Zhao Fenglai would always vacate a private room for him and politely invite him in to sample the dishes.
Since becoming a Food Critic, Cao Pingzhi had never queued up.
Qin Yue was on the first floor, and upon seeing Cao Pingzhi walk straight in, ignoring the queue, her expression changed slightly.
Cao Pingzhi was here, but the restaurant was already full...
This is bad!
She hurriedly approached him. "Mr. Cao, hello. The restaurant is currently full—"
"Qin Yue?" Cao Pingzhi glanced at her, secretly puzzled.
Didn't Moonlight Pavilion close down? Why was she here?
"Don't you know what to do when it's full? I am a reviewer for the Food Critique Magazine magazine. My time is precious. Do you expect me to queue?"
Qin Yue forced a smile. "Should I ask the owner then?"
"Go ahead." Cao Pingzhi stood in the dining area, observing the surroundings, his curiosity piqued.
Owner?
Wasn't this place run by the Qin family?
Seeing Qin Yue, he initially thought they had just rebranded Moonlight Pavilion.
Around him, diners were feasting happily, with a mix of enticing aromas wafting into his nose, causing his mouth to water.
The food here seemed quite impressive...
Soon, he spotted the price list. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, he then broke into a broad grin.
Wonderful!
This restaurant's average prices were almost 10 times those of Fenglai Pavilion, yet business was booming. The profit margin was at least several times that of Fenglai Pavilion.
In an instant, Zhao Fenglai's request vanished from his mind. As long as he could manipulate Small Shop, he would have a constant stream of income.
Fenglai Pavilion? It's nothing.
With dishes costing over 100 Gold Coins, it shouldn't be hard for this restaurant to easily hand over 10.000 of Gold Coins to him.
He was already dreaming of a future with endless money.
As for the higher-priced dishes meaning he'd have to pay more?
Cao Pingzhi hadn't even considered that.
Seriously? No way a restaurant would make a reviewer pay for his meal, right?
<+>
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